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Lu YW, Ding ZL, Mao R, Zhao GG, He YQ, Li XL, Liu J. Early results of the integrative epigenomic-transcriptomic landscape of colorectal adenoma and cancer. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2024; 16:414-435. [PMID: 38425399 PMCID: PMC10900154 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v16.i2.414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Aberrant methylation is common during the initiation and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC), and detecting these changes that occur during early adenoma (ADE) formation and CRC progression has clinical value. AIM To identify potential DNA methylation markers specific to ADE and CRC. METHODS Here, we performed SeqCap targeted bisulfite sequencing and RNA-seq analysis of colorectal ADE and CRC samples to profile the epigenomic-transcriptomic landscape. RESULTS Comparing 22 CRC and 25 ADE samples, global methylation was higher in the former, but both showed similar methylation patterns regarding differentially methylated gene positions, chromatin signatures, and repeated elements. High-grade CRC tended to exhibit elevated methylation levels in gene promoter regions compared to those in low-grade CRC. Combined with RNA-seq gene expression data, we identified 14 methylation-regulated differentially expressed genes, of which only AGTR1 and NECAB1 methylation had prognostic significance. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that genome-wide alterations in DNA methylation occur during the early stages of CRC and demonstrate the methylation signatures associated with colorectal ADEs and CRC, suggesting prognostic biomarkers for CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- You-Wang Lu
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650032, Yunnan Province, China
| | - Zhao-Li Ding
- Kunming Biological Diversity Regional Center of Large Apparatus and Equipments, Public Technical Service Center, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming 650223, Yunnan Province, China
| | - Rui Mao
- School of Stomatology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650500, Yunnan Province, China
| | - Gui-Gang Zhao
- Genome Center of Biodiversity, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming 650223, Yunnan Province, China
| | - Yu-Qi He
- Genome Center of Biodiversity, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming 650223, Yunnan Province, China
| | - Xiao-Lu Li
- Genome Center of Biodiversity, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming 650223, Yunnan Province, China
| | - Jiang Liu
- Department of Reproduction and Genetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650032, Yunnan Province, China
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Taylor K, Pearson M, Das S, Sardell J, Chocian K, Gardner S. Genetic risk factors for severe and fatigue dominant long COVID and commonalities with ME/CFS identified by combinatorial analysis. J Transl Med 2023; 21:775. [PMID: 37915075 PMCID: PMC10621206 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04588-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Long COVID is a debilitating chronic condition that has affected over 100 million people globally. It is characterized by a diverse array of symptoms, including fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and respiratory problems. Studies have so far largely failed to identify genetic associations, the mechanisms behind the disease, or any common pathophysiology with other conditions such as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) that present with similar symptoms. METHODS We used a combinatorial analysis approach to identify combinations of genetic variants significantly associated with the development of long COVID and to examine the biological mechanisms underpinning its various symptoms. We compared two subpopulations of long COVID patients from Sano Genetics' Long COVID GOLD study cohort, focusing on patients with severe or fatigue dominant phenotypes. We evaluated the genetic signatures previously identified in an ME/CFS population against this long COVID population to understand similarities with other fatigue disorders that may be triggered by a prior viral infection. Finally, we also compared the output of this long COVID analysis against known genetic associations in other chronic diseases, including a range of metabolic and neurological disorders, to understand the overlap of pathophysiological mechanisms. RESULTS Combinatorial analysis identified 73 genes that were highly associated with at least one of the long COVID populations included in this analysis. Of these, 9 genes have prior associations with acute COVID-19, and 14 were differentially expressed in a transcriptomic analysis of long COVID patients. A pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the biological pathways most significantly associated with the 73 long COVID genes were mainly aligned with neurological and cardiometabolic diseases. Expanded genotype analysis suggests that specific SNX9 genotypes are a significant contributor to the risk of or protection against severe long COVID infection, but that the gene-disease relationship is context dependent and mediated by interactions with KLF15 and RYR3. Comparison of the genes uniquely associated with the Severe and Fatigue Dominant long COVID patients revealed significant differences between the pathways enriched in each subgroup. The genes unique to Severe long COVID patients were associated with immune pathways such as myeloid differentiation and macrophage foam cells. Genes unique to the Fatigue Dominant subgroup were enriched in metabolic pathways such as MAPK/JNK signaling. We also identified overlap in the genes associated with Fatigue Dominant long COVID and ME/CFS, including several involved in circadian rhythm regulation and insulin regulation. Overall, 39 SNPs associated in this study with long COVID can be linked to 9 genes identified in a recent combinatorial analysis of ME/CFS patient from UK Biobank. Among the 73 genes associated with long COVID, 42 are potentially tractable for novel drug discovery approaches, with 13 of these already targeted by drugs in clinical development pipelines. From this analysis for example, we identified TLR4 antagonists as repurposing candidates with potential to protect against long term cognitive impairment pathology caused by SARS-CoV-2. We are currently evaluating the repurposing potential of these drug targets for use in treating long COVID and/or ME/CFS. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates the power of combinatorial analytics for stratifying heterogeneous populations in complex diseases that do not have simple monogenic etiologies. These results build upon the genetic findings from combinatorial analyses of severe acute COVID-19 patients and an ME/CFS population and we expect that access to additional independent, larger patient datasets will further improve the disease insights and validate potential treatment options in long COVID.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krystyna Taylor
- PrecisionLife Ltd, Unit 8B Bankside, Hanborough Business Park, Oxford, OX29 8LJ, UK
| | - Matthew Pearson
- PrecisionLife Ltd, Unit 8B Bankside, Hanborough Business Park, Oxford, OX29 8LJ, UK
| | - Sayoni Das
- PrecisionLife Ltd, Unit 8B Bankside, Hanborough Business Park, Oxford, OX29 8LJ, UK
| | - Jason Sardell
- PrecisionLife Ltd, Unit 8B Bankside, Hanborough Business Park, Oxford, OX29 8LJ, UK
| | - Karolina Chocian
- PrecisionLife Ltd, Unit 8B Bankside, Hanborough Business Park, Oxford, OX29 8LJ, UK
| | - Steve Gardner
- PrecisionLife Ltd, Unit 8B Bankside, Hanborough Business Park, Oxford, OX29 8LJ, UK.
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Ballester Roig MN, Roy PG, Hannou L, Delignat-Lavaud B, Sully Guerrier TA, Bélanger-Nelson E, Dufort-Gervais J, Mongrain V. Transcriptional regulation of the mouse EphA4, Ephrin-B2 and Ephrin-A3 genes by the circadian clock machinery. Chronobiol Int 2023; 40:983-1003. [PMID: 37551686 DOI: 10.1080/07420528.2023.2237580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
Circadian rhythms originate from molecular feedback loops. In mammals, the transcription factors CLOCK and BMAL1 act on regulatory elements (i.e. E-boxes) to shape biological functions in a rhythmic manner. The EPHA4 receptor and its ligands Ephrins (EFN) are cell adhesion molecules regulating neurotransmission and neuronal morphology. Previous studies showed the presence of E-boxes in the genes of EphA4 and specific Ephrins, and that EphA4 knockout mice have an altered circadian rhythm of locomotor activity. We thus hypothesized that the core clock machinery regulates the gene expression of EphA4, EfnB2 and EfnA3. CLOCK and BMAL1 (or NPAS2 and BMAL2) were found to have transcriptional activity on distal and proximal regions of EphA4, EfnB2 and EfnA3 putative promoters. A constitutively active form of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β; a negative regulator of CLOCK and BMAL1) blocked the transcriptional induction. Mutating the E-boxes of EphA4 distal promoter sequence reduced transcriptional induction. EPHA4 and EFNB2 protein levels did not show circadian variations in the mouse suprachiasmatic nucleus or prefrontal cortex. The findings uncover that core circadian transcription factors can regulate the gene expression of elements of the Eph/Ephrin system, which might contribute to circadian rhythmicity in biological processes in the brain or peripheral tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Neus Ballester Roig
- Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Recherche CIUSSS-NIM, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Pierre-Gabriel Roy
- Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Recherche CIUSSS-NIM, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Valérie Mongrain
- Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Recherche CIUSSS-NIM, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Yu Q, Wang X, Yang Y, Chi P, Huang J, Qiu S, Zheng X, Chen X. Upregulated NLGN1 predicts poor survival in colorectal cancer. BMC Cancer 2021; 21:884. [PMID: 34340665 PMCID: PMC8327451 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-021-08621-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Neuroligin1 (NLGN1) is a main component of excitatory glutamatergic synapses complex and is important for synapse assembly and function. The clinical value of NLGN1 in colorectal cancer (CRC) is not clear. Methods We obtained the expression data of 1143 CRC patients from 3 independent Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets (GSE32323, GSE24551, GSE39582) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to make the comparison of the NLGN1 expression level between CRC tissues and matched noncancerous tissues, and to evaluate its value in predicting survival of CRC patients. At the protein level, these results were further confirmed by immunohistochemical staining of 52 CRC samples in our own centre. Finally, the function of NLGN1 was explored by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Results Increased mRNA and protein levels of NLGN1 expression were associated with worse overall survival or recurrence-free survival in CRC patients from 2 GEO datasets, the TCGA database, and our cohort. In addition, multivariate regression analysis showed that NLGN1 was an independent poor prognostic factor of survival in patients with CRC in TCGA database (OR = 2.524, P = 0.010). Functional analysis revealed that NLGN1 was correlated with function involving the Hedgehog signaling pathway, mismatch repair process, and some material metabolism processes. Conclusions This study is the first to implicate and verify NLGN1 as a new poor prognostic marker for CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Yu
- Department of Pathology, Union Hospital, Fujian Medical University, 29 Xin-Quan Road, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350001, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaojie Wang
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Union Hospital, Fujian Medical University, 29 Xin-Quan Road, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350001, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yinghong Yang
- Department of Pathology, Union Hospital, Fujian Medical University, 29 Xin-Quan Road, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350001, People's Republic of China.
| | - Pan Chi
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Union Hospital, Fujian Medical University, 29 Xin-Quan Road, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350001, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianping Huang
- Department of Pathology, Union Hospital, Fujian Medical University, 29 Xin-Quan Road, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350001, People's Republic of China
| | - Shengliang Qiu
- Department of Pathology, Union Hospital, Fujian Medical University, 29 Xin-Quan Road, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350001, People's Republic of China
| | - Xin Zheng
- Department of Pathology, Union Hospital, Fujian Medical University, 29 Xin-Quan Road, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350001, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaowen Chen
- Department of Pathology, Union Hospital, Fujian Medical University, 29 Xin-Quan Road, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350001, People's Republic of China
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Dufort-Gervais J, Provost C, Charbonneau L, Norris CM, Calon F, Mongrain V, Brouillette J. Neuroligin-1 is altered in the hippocampus of Alzheimer's disease patients and mouse models, and modulates the toxicity of amyloid-beta oligomers. Sci Rep 2020; 10:6956. [PMID: 32332783 PMCID: PMC7181681 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-63255-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Synapse loss occurs early and correlates with cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Synaptotoxicity is driven, at least in part, by amyloid-beta oligomers (Aβo), but the exact synaptic components targeted by Aβo remain to be identified. We here tested the hypotheses that the post-synaptic protein Neuroligin-1 (NLGN1) is affected early in the process of neurodegeneration in the hippocampus, and specifically by Aβo, and that it can modulate Aβo toxicity. We found that hippocampal NLGN1 was decreased in patients with AD in comparison to patients with mild cognitive impairment and control subjects. Female 3xTg-AD mice also showed a decreased NLGN1 level in the hippocampus at an early age (i.e., 4 months). We observed that chronic hippocampal Aβo injections initially increased the expression of one specific Nlgn1 transcript, which was followed by a clear decrease. Lastly, the absence of NLGN1 decreased neuronal counts in the dentate gyrus, which was not the case in wild-type animals, and worsens impairment in spatial learning following chronic hippocampal Aβo injections. Our findings support that NLGN1 is impacted early during neurodegenerative processes, and that Aβo contributes to this effect. Moreover, our results suggest that the presence of NLGN1 favors the cognitive prognosis during Aβo-driven neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Dufort-Gervais
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal (Recherche CIUSSS-NIM), Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Chloé Provost
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal (Recherche CIUSSS-NIM), Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | | | - Christopher M Norris
- Department of Molecular and Biomedical Pharmacology, Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Frédéric Calon
- Neuroscience Unit, Research Center - CHU de Québec, Québec, QC, Canada
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Valérie Mongrain
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal (Recherche CIUSSS-NIM), Montréal, Québec, Canada.
- Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
| | - Jonathan Brouillette
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal (Recherche CIUSSS-NIM), Montréal, Québec, Canada.
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Hannou L, Roy P, Ballester Roig MN, Mongrain V. Transcriptional control of synaptic components by the clock machinery. Eur J Neurosci 2019; 51:241-267. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2018] [Revised: 11/01/2018] [Accepted: 11/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lydia Hannou
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine and Research CenterHôpital du Sacré‐Cœur de Montréal (CIUSSS‐NIM) Montreal Quebec Canada
- Department of PsychiatryUniversité de Montréal Montreal Quebec Canada
| | - Pierre‐Gabriel Roy
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine and Research CenterHôpital du Sacré‐Cœur de Montréal (CIUSSS‐NIM) Montreal Quebec Canada
- Department of NeuroscienceUniversité de Montréal Montreal Quebec Canada
| | - Maria Neus Ballester Roig
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine and Research CenterHôpital du Sacré‐Cœur de Montréal (CIUSSS‐NIM) Montreal Quebec Canada
- Department of NeuroscienceUniversité de Montréal Montreal Quebec Canada
| | - Valérie Mongrain
- Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine and Research CenterHôpital du Sacré‐Cœur de Montréal (CIUSSS‐NIM) Montreal Quebec Canada
- Department of NeuroscienceUniversité de Montréal Montreal Quebec Canada
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